Sarmah Nomi, Kaldis Athanasios, Taning Clauvis Nji Tizi, Perdikis Dionysios, Smagghe Guy, Voloudakis Andreas
Laboratory of Agricultural Zoology and Entomology, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece.
Laboratory of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece.
Insects. 2021 Mar 24;12(4):274. doi: 10.3390/insects12040274.
RNAi-mediated insect pest management has recently shown promising results against the most serious pest of tomato, the tomato leafminer, . This study aimed to investigate whether dsRNA (ds-) designed to target the gene could cause adverse effects to its biocontrol agent, the mirid predator, Oral exposure of to dsRNA (ds) designed to target - resulted in a 61%, 67% and 55% reduction in its transcript level in comparison to the sucrose, ds and ds treatments, respectively. In addition, significantly higher mortality of 57% was recorded in dstreated when compared to the sucrose (7%), ds (10%) and ds (10%) treatments. Moreover, the predation rate of ~33-39 eggs per adult dramatically reduced to almost half in the surviving dstreated . This worst-case exposure scenario confirmed for the first time that the RNAi machinery is functional in this species and that the risk of exposure through the oral route is possible. In contrast, ds- did not cause any sub-lethal effects to upon oral exposure. Oral exposure of to ds- resulted in 50% mortality. In the context of a biosafety risk assessment of RNAi-mediated insect management, investigating the effects on non-target organisms is essential in order to include this method as part of an integrated pest management strategy. Based on our laboratory assays, RNAi-mediated control is compatible with the biological control of by its natural enemy , adding the RNAi approach in the armoire of integrated pest management of .
RNA干扰介导的害虫管理最近在防治番茄最严重的害虫番茄潜叶蛾方面显示出了有前景的结果。本研究旨在调查靶向该基因设计的双链RNA（dsRNA）是否会对其生物防治剂——盲蝽捕食者产生不利影响。与蔗糖、dsRNA和dsRNA处理组相比，用靶向该基因设计的dsRNA口服处理该盲蝽捕食者，其转录水平分别降低了61%、67%和55%。此外，与蔗糖处理组（7%）、dsRNA处理组（10%）和dsRNA处理组（10%）相比，dsRNA处理组的死亡率显著更高，达到57%。而且，存活的dsRNA处理组中，每只成虫的捕食率从约33 - 39枚卵急剧降至几乎一半。这种最坏情况的暴露场景首次证实了RNA干扰机制在该物种中起作用，并且通过口服途径暴露的风险是可能的。相比之下，口服dsRNA对该盲蝽捕食者未造成任何亚致死效应。口服dsRNA导致该盲蝽捕食者50%的死亡率。在RNA干扰介导的昆虫管理的生物安全风险评估背景下，调查对非靶标生物的影响对于将该方法纳入综合害虫管理策略至关重要。基于我们的实验室测定，RNA干扰介导的防治与该盲蝽捕食者对番茄潜叶蛾的生物防治是兼容的，将RNA干扰方法加入到番茄潜叶蛾综合害虫管理的手段中。
